the rollback of south africa's biological warfare program

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193 For example, Dr Jan Lourens, a bio engineer who worked at Delta G and later headed Protechnek, was one of the scientists who applied for amnesty to the TRC after Basson’s arrest. He called the claims that Project Coast was a defensive program “nonsense.” He proved to be a particularly effective witness as he was able to produce some of the “James Bond type” weapons developed to deliver fatal doses of poison applicators (including umbrellas, screw drivers, signet ring with spring-loaded dose-powder) that had been made to order for Wouter Basson during his testimony. Lourens was also crucial as a witness because he testified that SADF chief Gen Kat Liebenberg told him to “forget about the whole thing…” and then told Lourens that “those are my toys…I want them back.” Instead, he had buried these “toys” at his Northern Transvaal farm and resigned from the military. After Basson’s arrest he told his story to Transvaal attorney general J. d’Oliveira and testified before the TRC. A former senior procurement official for Delta-G who worked for the company for eight years agreed to cooperate with prosecutors. This official proved to be very helpful since he kept a diary of contained details about all products and raw materials that entered the facility. The diary also described several business dealings that he had with Thor Chemicals executive, Alan Kidger, who was subsequently brutally murdered. This unnamed senior procurement official described Delta-G as "state-of-the-art” research laboratories consisting of five different facilities and described the cell structures that ensured that nobody really knew what the other was doing. 194 Michael Evans, “South Africa may have ordered British deaths,” The Times (14 July 1998), 7. 195 Paraphrase of comments made by Dr. Villa-Vicencia, former senior investigator for TRC during an interview in July 2000. 196 Frontline transcript of interview from Plague Wars: A report on biological weapons threats and how the Soviet Union secretly amassed an arsenal of bioweapons. 1998 PBS Online and WBGH/FRONTLINE television show, http://www. pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/plague/sa/. 197 This figure does not include the prosecution cost, those of the seven-year Office for Serious Economic Offenses investigation, or the cost of forensic auditor Hennie Bruwer’s investigation. 198 Information in this section is based on an interview with Laura Polleciett, Director, Freedom of Expression (FIX) and several South African reporters during July 2000, and on information contained in FIX administrative files. 199 Report on the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (“TRC”) Transcript on South Africa’s Chemical and Biological Warfare. Freedom of Expression Institute, WWBI:\CS\GB\MM\TRCHearings_CBW.doc., 4/1/99. 112
200 By the seventh week of the trial even the prosecution lacked the funds to pay for court transcripts. The Court adjourned at the end of November 1999, reserving the right to re-examine former Surgeon General Knobel once they had examined the transcripts of the evidence. This delay was necessitated by the fact that the prosecution team lacked the funds to purchase the daily transcripts from the transcription services! 201 A comprehensive search of all newspapers indexed in Nexis/Lexis during one week that the Basson trial was scheduled to be in session in Jacksonville, Florida did not locate a singe published account of these proceedings. This fact underscores how dependent observers are on a single source for their information about the trial. 202 One worked for Black Sash, an NGO founded by white women liberals, whose initial mission was to help nonwhites who had run afoul of apartheid pass laws. 203 During the late 1980s after the former South African government had banned nearly all labor and civic organizations that supported majority rule, a loose coalition of groups forms under the umbrella of the United Democratic Movement (UDM). UDM served as the principle source of legal political opposition to the apartheid regime. Continuing crackdowns led to many new, small non-governmental organizations being formed. Funding to promote democracy by the US and other Western countries was critical to the operation of many of these groups to exist throughout the late 1980s and early 1990s. Currently organizations such as FIX are struggling to stay in business due the lack of financial support from domestic or international donors. 204 Interview with Torie Pretorius, Prosecutor in the Basson trial, 12 July 2000. 205 Interview with Torie Pretorius, Prosecutor in the Basson trial, 12 July 2000. 206 Much of the descriptive narrative in this section relies on the trial summaries posted on the Centre for Conflict Resolution (CCR) web site and South African press accounts of actions taken during the trial to date. To access these summaries, see http://ccrweb.ccr.uct.ac.za/cbw/cbw_index.html 207 The prosecution also objected to conspiracy charges arguing that it was unprecedented for a person to be charged with conspiracy to murder when the murder took place in another country. The reporter covering the trial for CCR, Marlene Burger, noted in her summary that there was a precedent in South Africa for this, since the case against former policeman, Eugene De Kock, included charges for crimes committed in another country (see Trial Week One, CCR Web Page. Both prosecutors in this case, Dr. Tore Pretorius and Anton Ackerman (SC), are well aware of this precedent as they represented the 113
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THE ROLLBACK OF SOUTH AFRICA’S BI
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TABLE OF CONTENTS Foreword vii Exec
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FOREWORD We are pleased to publish
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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY The profile of So
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The Rollback of the South African B
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During WWII, South African Prime Mi
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dollars) estimate to build a CBW pr
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learn first-hand how the Portuguese
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use of chemical and biological agen
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incidents underscored the variable
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Convention (BWC). According to form
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Project Coast, which would countera
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internal suppression of political d
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Malan, and the Minister of Finance,
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The chain of command demonstrates t
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omb could be used to wipe out or in
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tear gas and to incapacitate withou
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In the aftermath of Cuito Cuanavale
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confirmed, there is evidence that s
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the SSC. At this time, the security
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Given the breadth and depth of coop
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instruct scientists working with a
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the South African President’s off
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Mandrax and Ecstasy that were produ
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overseas business deals. 114 In Aug
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South Africa negotiated the withdra
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political party or organization. Pr
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nuclear weapons program and Project
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TRC, the men who tried to kill Chik
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In 1991, Basson began to build Mert
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Military personnel from several cou
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Meyer, the Acting Defense Secretary
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leave the SADF at the end of March
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Knobel’s testimony to the TRC, SA
Page 71 and 72: objected to the South African CBM a
Page 73 and 74: Basson and his trips to Libya were
Page 75 and 76: experiences for the military leader
Page 77 and 78: was submitted in 1994). This time U
Page 79 and 80: as the U.S., Great Britain, and oth
Page 81 and 82: investigation phase ended. Initiall
Page 83 and 84: June 1998. However, several weeks b
Page 85 and 86: penalties did finally force him to
Page 87 and 88: public. The State was operating on
Page 89 and 90: The limited news coverage of the Ba
Page 91 and 92: South African court for crimes comm
Page 93 and 94: ulings excluding evidence, his timi
Page 95 and 96: had asked him to set up a facility
Page 97 and 98: cover illegal personal gains from t
Page 99 and 100: who had detailed knowledge of many
Page 101 and 102: 9. What specifically and when did t
Page 103 and 104: e delivered through food and water,
Page 105 and 106: Reconciliation Commission of South
Page 107 and 108: 41 Interview with Dr. G. Scharf, fo
Page 109 and 110: 56 Mangold, Plague Wars, 243. 57 In
Page 111 and 112: weaponization took place. Donald Ma
Page 113 and 114: home of Jerry Nilsson, who was ques
Page 115 and 116: he still need to raise cash in Sout
Page 117 and 118: military bases and was familiar to
Page 119 and 120: 162 According to Dr. Ian Phillips,
Page 121: Basson’s arrest was the result of
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